Daniel Calparsoro, a director who has contributed to the contemporary scene in Spanish and Basque cinema, has provoked strong reactions from the critics. Reductively dismissed as a purveyor of crude ...
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Daniel Calparsoro, a director who has contributed to the contemporary scene in Spanish and Basque cinema, has provoked strong reactions from the critics. Reductively dismissed as a purveyor of crude violence by those critics lamenting a ‘lost golden age’ of Spanish filmmaking, Calparsoro's films reveal in fact a more complex interaction with trends and traditions in both Spanish and Hollywood cinema. This book is a full-length study of the director's work, from his early social realist films set in the Basque Country to his later forays into the genres of the war and horror film. It offers an in-depth film-by-film analysis, while simultaneously exploring the function of the director in the contemporary Spanish context, the tension between directors and critics, and the question of national cinema in an area—the Basque Country—of heightened national and regional sensitivities.Less

Daniel Calparsoro

Ann Davies

Published in print: 2009-02-01

Daniel Calparsoro, a director who has contributed to the contemporary scene in Spanish and Basque cinema, has provoked strong reactions from the critics. Reductively dismissed as a purveyor of crude violence by those critics lamenting a ‘lost golden age’ of Spanish filmmaking, Calparsoro's films reveal in fact a more complex interaction with trends and traditions in both Spanish and Hollywood cinema. This book is a full-length study of the director's work, from his early social realist films set in the Basque Country to his later forays into the genres of the war and horror film. It offers an in-depth film-by-film analysis, while simultaneously exploring the function of the director in the contemporary Spanish context, the tension between directors and critics, and the question of national cinema in an area—the Basque Country—of heightened national and regional sensitivities.

This chapter discusses the competitors of the American film industry. The German film industry competed most successfully with America in that its domestic productions outweighed foreign imports in ...
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This chapter discusses the competitors of the American film industry. The German film industry competed most successfully with America in that its domestic productions outweighed foreign imports in the 1920s, and Britain put up a very good fight at the box office, with 1927 its annus mirabilis. However, protectionist measures would characterise a decade in which national cinemas sought to hold their own against Hollywood's incursions into other national cinemas. The American challenge to European and other cinemas was also underwritten by the federal support that the American film industry received from the US Government's Commerce Department, designed to support a developing industry. The chapter also includes the study, ‘Social Mobility and the Fantastic: German Silent Cinema’ by Thomas Elsaesser, a revisionist study that pays tribute to two classic film studies of the era — Siegfried Kracauer's sociological From Caligari to Hitler (1947) and Lotte Eisner's aesthetic study The Haunted Screen (1969). Elsaesser critiques what had become their ‘consensus’ view of the cinema of the period.Less

Competing with Hollywood: National Film Industries Outside Hollywood

Paul GraingeMark JancovichSharon Monteith

Published in print: 2007-01-11

This chapter discusses the competitors of the American film industry. The German film industry competed most successfully with America in that its domestic productions outweighed foreign imports in the 1920s, and Britain put up a very good fight at the box office, with 1927 its annus mirabilis. However, protectionist measures would characterise a decade in which national cinemas sought to hold their own against Hollywood's incursions into other national cinemas. The American challenge to European and other cinemas was also underwritten by the federal support that the American film industry received from the US Government's Commerce Department, designed to support a developing industry. The chapter also includes the study, ‘Social Mobility and the Fantastic: German Silent Cinema’ by Thomas Elsaesser, a revisionist study that pays tribute to two classic film studies of the era — Siegfried Kracauer's sociological From Caligari to Hitler (1947) and Lotte Eisner's aesthetic study The Haunted Screen (1969). Elsaesser critiques what had become their ‘consensus’ view of the cinema of the period.

This chapter examines the scale of the national used to occupy the central attention in film studies and argues that the resulting myth of a unified national cinema in a given nation-state must be ...
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This chapter examines the scale of the national used to occupy the central attention in film studies and argues that the resulting myth of a unified national cinema in a given nation-state must be demystified. It first reconceptualizes Chinese cinema in relation to the shifting problematics of national cinema and transnational film studies in both the theoretical and historical contexts. It then considers interdisciplinarity in Chinese film studies in the West and how it benefits audience study, along with the thorny issues of piracy and cross-mediality. It also discusses film studies from a different perspective than transnationalism and speculates on what might be gained from comparative film studies, arguing that it is a subfield larger than transnational film studies. The chapter urges scholars to move beyond the national cinema paradigm and to explore the transnational and comparative frameworks of film studies.Less

Space of Scholarship : Trans/National and Comparative Studies

Yingjin Zhang

Published in print: 2009-10-09

This chapter examines the scale of the national used to occupy the central attention in film studies and argues that the resulting myth of a unified national cinema in a given nation-state must be demystified. It first reconceptualizes Chinese cinema in relation to the shifting problematics of national cinema and transnational film studies in both the theoretical and historical contexts. It then considers interdisciplinarity in Chinese film studies in the West and how it benefits audience study, along with the thorny issues of piracy and cross-mediality. It also discusses film studies from a different perspective than transnationalism and speculates on what might be gained from comparative film studies, arguing that it is a subfield larger than transnational film studies. The chapter urges scholars to move beyond the national cinema paradigm and to explore the transnational and comparative frameworks of film studies.

The guiding premise of this book is that careful analysis of a range of small national cinemas can suggest a number of conceptual models for understanding the persistence of the nation in various ...
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The guiding premise of this book is that careful analysis of a range of small national cinemas can suggest a number of conceptual models for understanding the persistence of the nation in various transnational constellations. A dozen case studies have been selected to provide a broad geographical spread including Iceland, Denmark, Scotland, Ireland, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, New Zealand, Cuba, Tunisia and Burkina Faso. These have been selected in relation to four major definitions – population size, geographical scale, GNP and relationship to a dominant or ruling nation. In film studies the national remains a significant term, albeit one that requires a paradigm shift in terms of how it is now located in relation to concepts of the transnational, the global and the regional. The political scientist Peter Katzenstein provides a helpful differentiation between processes of globalisation and internationalisation, where the latter emphasises the maintenance of nation states and cross border exchanges, as opposed to the sense of transformation and convergence signified by the former which in turn suggests a very productive conceptual frame for thinking about small nations. The contradictory pressures to engage simultaneously in processes of globalisation and national building in turn informs the operations of small national cinemas where participation in the global market place frequently co-exists with the promotion and nurturing of local film-makers and industries and the facilitation of cultural expression.Less

The Cinema of Small Nations

Published in print: 2007-11-21

The guiding premise of this book is that careful analysis of a range of small national cinemas can suggest a number of conceptual models for understanding the persistence of the nation in various transnational constellations. A dozen case studies have been selected to provide a broad geographical spread including Iceland, Denmark, Scotland, Ireland, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, New Zealand, Cuba, Tunisia and Burkina Faso. These have been selected in relation to four major definitions – population size, geographical scale, GNP and relationship to a dominant or ruling nation. In film studies the national remains a significant term, albeit one that requires a paradigm shift in terms of how it is now located in relation to concepts of the transnational, the global and the regional. The political scientist Peter Katzenstein provides a helpful differentiation between processes of globalisation and internationalisation, where the latter emphasises the maintenance of nation states and cross border exchanges, as opposed to the sense of transformation and convergence signified by the former which in turn suggests a very productive conceptual frame for thinking about small nations. The contradictory pressures to engage simultaneously in processes of globalisation and national building in turn informs the operations of small national cinemas where participation in the global market place frequently co-exists with the promotion and nurturing of local film-makers and industries and the facilitation of cultural expression.

Television in Germany represents an especially interesting case within Europe due to the country's division after 1949 into two sovereign nations, with radically different trajectories concerning the ...
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Television in Germany represents an especially interesting case within Europe due to the country's division after 1949 into two sovereign nations, with radically different trajectories concerning the role of the arts. After World War II, developments in television commenced in the Federal Republic of Germany and resulted in the establishment of the first public broadcasting station, the NWDR, in 1952, and two years later, the ARD. In the 1950s and early 1960s, initial attempts to establish a productive relationship between cinema and television were underway and feature films began to be broadcast on TV. However, these cross-media experiments were not well received by critics or the public and were given the derogatory label ‘Pantoffelkino’ (slipper cinema). Furthermore, many within the film industry blamed the dramatic decrease in cinema spectatorship on the emergence of television, tainting the reputation of the latter. It was not until the 1970s that television began to play an important role in the development of a German national cinema.Less

Germany: Screen Wars: German National Cinema in the Age of Television

Margit GriebWill Lehman

Published in print: 2007-02-01

Television in Germany represents an especially interesting case within Europe due to the country's division after 1949 into two sovereign nations, with radically different trajectories concerning the role of the arts. After World War II, developments in television commenced in the Federal Republic of Germany and resulted in the establishment of the first public broadcasting station, the NWDR, in 1952, and two years later, the ARD. In the 1950s and early 1960s, initial attempts to establish a productive relationship between cinema and television were underway and feature films began to be broadcast on TV. However, these cross-media experiments were not well received by critics or the public and were given the derogatory label ‘Pantoffelkino’ (slipper cinema). Furthermore, many within the film industry blamed the dramatic decrease in cinema spectatorship on the emergence of television, tainting the reputation of the latter. It was not until the 1970s that television began to play an important role in the development of a German national cinema.

This chapter examines the concept of transnationalism in contemporary Japanese cinema. The term “transnational cinema” has been posed as a substitute for “national cinema,” which has long been ...
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This chapter examines the concept of transnationalism in contemporary Japanese cinema. The term “transnational cinema” has been posed as a substitute for “national cinema,” which has long been criticized for various reasons. While nationalism has been repeatedly invented in popular culture, national borders have become increasingly permeable. Global exchanges have noticeably accelerated with the development of communication technologies. In the case of film studies, the expansion of multinational finance and the diversified distribution beyond theatrical release has put the present framework of national cinema in a tenuous position. This chapter tackles the issue of the paradigm shift on the levels both of the critical discourses regarding Chinese-language and Nordic cinemas and the film texts, with particular emphasis on contemporary transnational films from the East Asian region. It also discusses global localization or glocalization as exemplified by the film Initial D. Finally, it considers what benefit, if any, the framework of transnational cinema brings us over that of national cinema through an analysis of the Japanese film, The Hotel Venus (2004, Takahata Hideta).Less

Finding the Nation in Transnational Cinema

Mitsuyo Wada-Marciano

Published in print: 2012-05-31

This chapter examines the concept of transnationalism in contemporary Japanese cinema. The term “transnational cinema” has been posed as a substitute for “national cinema,” which has long been criticized for various reasons. While nationalism has been repeatedly invented in popular culture, national borders have become increasingly permeable. Global exchanges have noticeably accelerated with the development of communication technologies. In the case of film studies, the expansion of multinational finance and the diversified distribution beyond theatrical release has put the present framework of national cinema in a tenuous position. This chapter tackles the issue of the paradigm shift on the levels both of the critical discourses regarding Chinese-language and Nordic cinemas and the film texts, with particular emphasis on contemporary transnational films from the East Asian region. It also discusses global localization or glocalization as exemplified by the film Initial D. Finally, it considers what benefit, if any, the framework of transnational cinema brings us over that of national cinema through an analysis of the Japanese film, The Hotel Venus (2004, Takahata Hideta).

This chapter looks into the varied efforts of filmmakers to develop Joseon film culture and to define what constituted Joseon film from the early 1920s up to the late 1930s. Specifically, it explores ...
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This chapter looks into the varied efforts of filmmakers to develop Joseon film culture and to define what constituted Joseon film from the early 1920s up to the late 1930s. Specifically, it explores filmmakers’ endeavours to find a way to develop cinematic aesthetics that reflected something uniquely Korean but at the same time integrated Joseon’s colonial status into their filmic representation of the colony Joseon. The inquiry begins with a discussion of the cinematic tropes and aesthetics developed by the 1926 film Arirang that laid the foundation for Joseon film production. The author discusses the film’s role in the discursive formation of Joseon cinema and cinematic representation of Joseon. Then the chapter analyses a wide variety of films, recurring stylistic patterns, and critical questions Joseon filmmakers considered when they tried to cinematize their respective versions of a Joseon image.Less

Dong Hoon Kim

Published in print: 2017-04-01

This chapter looks into the varied efforts of filmmakers to develop Joseon film culture and to define what constituted Joseon film from the early 1920s up to the late 1930s. Specifically, it explores filmmakers’ endeavours to find a way to develop cinematic aesthetics that reflected something uniquely Korean but at the same time integrated Joseon’s colonial status into their filmic representation of the colony Joseon. The inquiry begins with a discussion of the cinematic tropes and aesthetics developed by the 1926 film Arirang that laid the foundation for Joseon film production. The author discusses the film’s role in the discursive formation of Joseon cinema and cinematic representation of Joseon. Then the chapter analyses a wide variety of films, recurring stylistic patterns, and critical questions Joseon filmmakers considered when they tried to cinematize their respective versions of a Joseon image.

As a small and relatively peripheral nation, Ireland's film industry is largely state-funded with additional support from European sources and co-production deals with the commercial industry. It ...
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As a small and relatively peripheral nation, Ireland's film industry is largely state-funded with additional support from European sources and co-production deals with the commercial industry. It produces between 10 and 15 feature films per year as well as a range of shorts, documentaries and animation films. Ireland is also a popular location for large-scale American and British film and television productions, which bring additional economic and training benefits to the local indigenous industry. Although this industry only emerged relatively recently in the 1980s/1990s, Ireland has had a presence in the American and British film industries since the earliest days of filmmaking and a range of dominant tropes has emerged in the representation of Ireland and the Irish. Much indigenous filmmaking is a response to these traditions of representation as well as a response to the rapid economic and social changes that have characterised Ireland since the 1980s. Indeed, Irish cinema has played a key role in tracking and representing these transformations so that, despite the low profile of Irish cinema internationally (with the exception of Neil Jordan and Jim Sheridan) the indigenous cinema has played a key role in the cultural re-imagining of Ireland and the Irish at home.Less

Ireland

Mette HjortDuncan Petrie

Published in print: 2007-11-21

As a small and relatively peripheral nation, Ireland's film industry is largely state-funded with additional support from European sources and co-production deals with the commercial industry. It produces between 10 and 15 feature films per year as well as a range of shorts, documentaries and animation films. Ireland is also a popular location for large-scale American and British film and television productions, which bring additional economic and training benefits to the local indigenous industry. Although this industry only emerged relatively recently in the 1980s/1990s, Ireland has had a presence in the American and British film industries since the earliest days of filmmaking and a range of dominant tropes has emerged in the representation of Ireland and the Irish. Much indigenous filmmaking is a response to these traditions of representation as well as a response to the rapid economic and social changes that have characterised Ireland since the 1980s. Indeed, Irish cinema has played a key role in tracking and representing these transformations so that, despite the low profile of Irish cinema internationally (with the exception of Neil Jordan and Jim Sheridan) the indigenous cinema has played a key role in the cultural re-imagining of Ireland and the Irish at home.

This article identifies and explores a central paradox which beset Scottish cinema of the early 2000s. On one hand, that period continued and confirmed the notable achievements of the late 1990s: ...
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This article identifies and explores a central paradox which beset Scottish cinema of the early 2000s. On one hand, that period continued and confirmed the notable achievements of the late 1990s: enhanced levels of indigenous feature production were sustained into the new century and significant new directorial voices (such as David MacKenzie and Richard Jobson) continued to emerge. Yet on the other, many figures active within twenty-first-century Scottish film culture understood the post-2000 period to be one of collective disappointment and unfulfilled expectation. With a particular focus on two central trends – a decline in average feature production budget sizes and an increase in feature co-production activity between Scottish and European (especially Scandinavian) partners – this article argues that the 2000s were in fact a period of significant consolidation for Scottish cinema. As well as seeking to understand the means by which that consolidation took place, the arguments presented here also speculate on the possible consequences of that fact for academic criticism of Scottish film, arguing that a traditional critical focus of questions of national identity and representation has become harder to sustain in the face of increasingly diverse filmmaking practices emerging from Scotland.Less

Scotland

Mette HjortDuncan Petrie

Published in print: 2007-11-21

This article identifies and explores a central paradox which beset Scottish cinema of the early 2000s. On one hand, that period continued and confirmed the notable achievements of the late 1990s: enhanced levels of indigenous feature production were sustained into the new century and significant new directorial voices (such as David MacKenzie and Richard Jobson) continued to emerge. Yet on the other, many figures active within twenty-first-century Scottish film culture understood the post-2000 period to be one of collective disappointment and unfulfilled expectation. With a particular focus on two central trends – a decline in average feature production budget sizes and an increase in feature co-production activity between Scottish and European (especially Scandinavian) partners – this article argues that the 2000s were in fact a period of significant consolidation for Scottish cinema. As well as seeking to understand the means by which that consolidation took place, the arguments presented here also speculate on the possible consequences of that fact for academic criticism of Scottish film, arguing that a traditional critical focus of questions of national identity and representation has become harder to sustain in the face of increasingly diverse filmmaking practices emerging from Scotland.

This chapter asks, with specific reference to Hong Kong, whether a national cinema can be produced in the absence of a nation-state. Comparisons with Palestinian cinema, which is disconnected from an ...
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This chapter asks, with specific reference to Hong Kong, whether a national cinema can be produced in the absence of a nation-state. Comparisons with Palestinian cinema, which is disconnected from an independent nation state, help to shed light on the specificities of the New Hong Kong Cinema and its relation to the phenomenon of national cinema. Films by Wong Kar-wai, Ann Hui, Fruit Chan, Alan Mak and Andrew Lau are shown to reflect thoughtfully on Hong Kong's re-inscription into China following the Handover in 1997.Less

Hong Kong

Mette HjortDuncan Petrie

Published in print: 2007-11-21

This chapter asks, with specific reference to Hong Kong, whether a national cinema can be produced in the absence of a nation-state. Comparisons with Palestinian cinema, which is disconnected from an independent nation state, help to shed light on the specificities of the New Hong Kong Cinema and its relation to the phenomenon of national cinema. Films by Wong Kar-wai, Ann Hui, Fruit Chan, Alan Mak and Andrew Lau are shown to reflect thoughtfully on Hong Kong's re-inscription into China following the Handover in 1997.